As part of his visit to BiH, the Turkish Chief of Defence, General Yasar Guler, visited EUFOR at Camp Butmir, on Saturday 15 June.

General Guler first met with the Turkish contingent, under the command of Colonel Ali Tanis, who put on a parade in his honour. He then met key EUFOR staff including the Chief of Staff, Brigadier General László Szabó before the Commander of EUFOR, Major General Martin Dorfer held a meeting with General Guler where they discussed the Turkish contribution to EUFOR’s mission as well as a variety of military and political issues.

Warrant Officer Ali Oner, who was involved in helping organise the visit, said: “It is a great honour and it makes everyone very happy that General Guler has been here to visit us”.

Turkey is one of the largest troop contributing nations providing manpower for not only a permanent presence in the Multi National Battalion but also five ‘Liaison and Observation Team’ houses in Zenica, Livino, Travnik, Zavidovici and Jablanica. The ‘LOT’ houses offer mine awareness training to local schools and gain an awareness of local issues that could impact on the security of the area through meetings with community leaders.

Turkey is one of 20 troop contributing countries in the EUFOR mission; there are 15 EU, and 5 non-EU countries contributing troops to Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina.